Mets-Phillies series preview: 7/3 through 7/5

After their disappointing 9 game road trip, the Phillies begin a 10 game homestand against their arch rivals the New York Mets.  Carlos Currasco or Andrew Carpenter will NOT start Friday.  Instead they brought up the hot Rodrigo Lopez.  It seems like every time the Phils face the Mets, they see Santana.

Friday 7/3 at 7:05 PM- Livan Hernandez (R) vs  Rodrigo Lopez (R)

• Hernandez’s career vs Phils: In 24 starts, Hernandez is 10-8 with a 3.36 ERA and a 1.278 WHIP.  He pitched 2 complete games, and the Phillies are batting an even .264 off him.
• last start vs Phils: On June 10, 2006 in Washington while Hernandez was with the Nats, he pitched 7+ innings and allowed 3 runs on 9 hits and 3 walks.  In the first 7 innings, he allowed only 1 run on a Chase Utley sac fly.  He also indced 2 GIDPs in the 6th and 7th innings.  He would run out of steam in the 8th when Bobby Abreu singled, and Pat Burrell would double.  The Phillies would beat the Nats 6-2.  His last start at the Bank was on May 31, 2006.  He allowed 2 runs on 5 hits.  Both runs came on solo HRs by Aaron Rowand and David Dellucci.  He also got out of a first and third and 1 out jam by getting Jimmy Rollins to ground into a 4-6-3 DP in the 5th inning.
• previous start: On Sunday against the Yankees in Citi Field, Hernandez went 7 innings and allowed 3 runs on 3 hits, and 5 walks.  All 3 runs came in the first inning.  After the first, he setteled down and faced more than 3 Yankees in only 1 inning, thanks to a couple double plays.  In the 6th with 1 out and after 2 walks to start the inning, he would intenially walk A-Rod, then get Robinson Cano to ground into a 6-3 DP.  The Mets could not do anything off Chien-Ming Wang and would lose 4-2.

• Lopez’s career vs Mets: n/a
• last start vs Mets: n/a
• previous start: On July 26, 2007 against the Dodgers in Denver, Lopez went 6 2/3 innings and allowed 5 runs (2 unearned) on 5 hits in a 5-4 Dodgers win.  He got into trouble in the 4th when Luis Gonzalez reached on an error by the centerfielder and when Nomar Garciaparra singled to knock in 2 runs.  In the 5th inning, he allowed a 2 run HR to Rafael Furcal.  In 13 starts in AAA Lehigh Valley, Lopez is 5-4, 3.91 in 13 starts.

Saturday 7/4 at 4:05 PM (FOX)- Fernando Nieve (R) vs Jamie Moyer (L)

• Nieve’s career vs Phils: In 5 relief apperances against the Phillies, Nieve is 0-1 with a high 33.75 ERA which is the highest vs any team he has faced.  In 1 1/3 innings, he has allowed 5 runs and 5 hits as well as 2 walks.
• last app vs Phils: On May 25 last year in Houston, Nieve pitched 0 innings and faced 4 batters who all got a hit and scored a run.  In the 6th inning, Pat Burrell hit a leadoff home run, Geoff Jenkins would single, Pedro Feliz doubled, and Carlos Ruiz singled in Jenkins.  Feliz and Ruiz would later score in the inning after Nieve was taken out.  Despite Cole Hamels allowing 6 runs in a short 4 innings of work, the Phillies offense came to life and scored 11 runs in 2 innings and would win 15-6.  This will be Nieve’s only second apperance at the Bank.  His only other game at the Bank was on Septmber 25, 2006 during that makeup game against Houston.
• previous start: On Monday against the Brewers in Milwaukee, Nieve went 3 1/3 innings and allowed 3 runs on 11 hits (more than half of the Brewer’s total 19 hits for the day).  Luckilly he only allowed 3 runs because the defense turned 2 double plays.  After he left in the 4th inning, Elmer Dessens got out of the bases loaded 1 out jam by getting Ryan Braun to fly into a 9-2 DP when Ryan Church gunned out Braden Looper.  The Mets attempted to come from behind in the 9th scoring 3 runs, but the Brewers held on and won 10-6.

• Moyer’s career vs Mets: In 23 games against the Mets, Moyer is 8-5, 3.67 with a 1.299 WHIP.
• last start vs Mets: On June 11, Moyer pitched 6 innings and allowed 3 runs on 8 hits and no walks.  2 of the runs came on out– one from a ground out and one from a sac fly.  The Phillies would win 6-3 in the 10th inning on Raul Ibanez’s 3 run HR.
• previous start: On Sunday against the Jays, he went only 5 innings and allowed 4 runs on 5 hits, 3 of them were HRs.  The Jays scored their 4 runs in Moyer’s first 3 innings.  After the 3rd inning, he only allowed 1 baserunner via hit batter.  The Phils bullpen held the Jays in check and the Phils won 5-4.

Sunday 7/5 at 1:35 PM- Johan Santana (L) vs Joe Blanton (R)

• Santana’s career vs Phils: In 8 starts, Santana is 4-0, 2.95.  He has an excellent 1.018 WHIP and held the Phillies to a .199 batting average.  The Phils hit 9 HRs off Santana.
• last start vs Phils: On June 9 in New York, Santana pitched 7+ innings and allowed 5 runs on 8 hits, and 4 HRs.  That was his only second time in his career he has allowed 4 HRs in a game.  All the Phillies runs came on HRs and 3 of them were solo shots.  Also, the Mets were 3-10 RISP vs the Phils 0-3.  The Phillies obiviously should have won that game hitting 4 HRs off Santana but did not and lost 6-5.
• previous start: On Tuesday against the Brewers, he went 6+ innings and allowed 6 runs (1 unearned) on 9 hits, and 4 walks.  In the 3rd inning, he allowed 3 straight singles to which scored 1 run, and a walk.  In the 4th inning, he allowed a walk, and a double and another walk to load the bases.  Ryan Braun then hit a double to score 3 runs, then Braun scored on an error on Santana.  He was in control for the rest of the game.  The Mets were stymied by Mike Burns and the Brewers pen and lost 6-3.

• Blanton’s career vs Mets: In 3 starts against the Mets, Blanton is 1-0, 2.14, and a 0.952 WHIP.  The Mets are batting only .213 off Blanton.  He has only allowed 2 doubles, 2 HRs, and 4 walks as well.
• last start vs Mets: On July 22 last year in New York, he went 6 innings,  5 runs on 8 hits, 3 walks, and 2 HRs.  3 hits and 3 runs came in the 3rd inning.  He also allowed a 2 run HR in the 6th inning.  With the Phillies down 5-2 going into the 9th inning, they would come back and score 6 runs in the 9th inning including 2 on a So Taguchi 2B!  The Phils would win 8-6.  This was Blanton’s first start as a Phillie and he was facing Johan Santana.  Santana and Blanton also faced off on August 1, 2005 in a 2-1 Athletics win in Minneapolis.
• previous start: On Friday against the Braves, Blanton went 5 innings and allowed 3 runs on 8 hits, and 3 walks (2 intentional).  In the 5th inning, he ran into a little trouble.  After a leadoff HR by Martin Prado, he would give up 2 singles and a walk to load the bases with 1 out.  He would get a 4-3 groundout to score a run, then would get a pop out to get out of the inning.  Despite a Phillies comeback, the pen would struggle to keep the lead and would lose 5-4 in 10 innings.